A Darkened Soul
by anipwrites
Summary: So, I'll invite Adrien, Alya, Nino, Kim, Max, Alix, Rose, Sabrina, Ivan, and Mylene to my party. Am I forgetting anyone? I don't think so... Nathanael sits alone in a room, when a sudden realization opens him up to an Akuma. Now, Ladybug and Chat Noir have to fight the Evillustrator... again. Based off a Miraculous Secrets video on Youtube.
1. Corruption

Welcome to _A Darkened Soul!_ Thanks for dropping in!

I started this earlier this week and finished it today. I didn't want to wait a week like I usually do to let it simmer before going back to edit because I'm stuck at my house for Hurricane Matthew and wanted to get it out before something happens or in case something happens. Feel free to favorite and review, and if I survive I might extend or change the ending so lets hope I do.

The intro is based off of the video "Miraculous Ladybug Episode - My Birthday Party | Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir" you can find it on YouTube on the Miraculous Ladybug channel. Basically, she remembers everyone in her class except Nathanael, so I explored what could happen there.

* * *

 _Dear Diary,_

 _It's my birthday on Saturday! Mom and Dad said I could have some friends over! It's going to be_ awesome!

 _So, who am I inviting? Alya, that's a no brainer! There's no way I could celebrate my birthday without my BFF! I'd_ so _love to invite Adrien too! Only problem is, I don't know if I could ask him without turning bright red and stuttering like_ crazy! _Oh well. If I can't do it, I'll ask Nino to help! He's a really great guy!_

 _So Alya, Adrien, and Nino! That makes three. Then, Rose and Juleka! They're not at all alike, but they're both super nice! I could also invite Ivan! He's a bit of an old grump, but he's always nice to me, so yeah! I'll invite him too! It'll make Mylene happy, because I think she's got a bit of a crush on him!_

 _Then there's Kim, the class jock, and Max! Kim's always challenging people, and Max is only into math! But, they're both pretty cool! I'll also invite Alix, the other sporty one in my class!_

 _Hm… am I forgetting anyone? Oh, right! Chloe and Sabrina! Wait, what?! Am I crazy?! I'm not inviting_ them! _They make my life a_ misery! _Lets just hope Chloe doesn't ask her dad-t_ he mayor of Paris _-to throw a party the exact same day! That would be_ so _not cool! Okay, I think I've got everybody! Oh, I can't wait! This is going to be so great!_

Nathanael lay down his pencil, staring out the window. Something was off. He glanced back down at his drawing, the back-haired blue-eyed girl smiling back up at him. Sure, he needed to add in a few more lines, but that definitely wasn't what was wrong.

Honestly, something had been feeling off all week. He'd been sick Monday and Tuesday, and was barely conscious Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, though, everyone seemed to be talking about some wild party. He didn't know whose party it was, or why, or when. He figured it was probably someone in another class they all knew, like Maggie. A lot of people seemed to talk to Maggie during lunch break, but she never really talked to him at all. Granted, he was usually drawing during lunch, but… If Maggie was throwing a party, he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't invite him. She didn't even know him, that was a perfectly respectable thing to do.

His muse hadn't been at school Thursday. He was hoping to give her a present, but she was a bit busy all of Friday and he didn't get the chance then either. So now he was simply drawing yet another portrait of her. Maybe he could get the guts to ask her to maybe model for him! No… that would be weird, wouldn't it? Whenever he had asked people to model for him before, they immediately assumed he meant _'draw me like one of your French girls'_ modeling. I mean, sure, Marinette was technically a French girl, so he would technically be drawing her like a French girl, but not like _that!_ That was weird, drawing her like… like...-the mere thought of it set fire to his cheeks and made his heart race.

Some love song crooned from the speaker of his phone, but was muted for a moment as a text notification came in. Probably Rose. He picked up his phone and looked at the message.

Rose: [Hey, Nathanael! Where are you?]

What did she mean? Where else would he be? Unless that party was today. Who's party could it be? Was she expecting him to be there for some reason? He quickly typed out a message and sent it.

Nathanael: [At home? Why do you ask, did you want to hang out or something?]

He let out a sigh and swung his legs out, sending his chair spinning away from the drawing desk. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling fan. Maybe he should find a new hobby. He'd stopped making the Super Nathanael comics a long while ago, but his pencil still instinctively drew the shape of Marinette's face whenever he put it to paper. She covered his notes, his sketchbooks, it was practically unconscious. And frankly, after he had been akumatized, he realized.. It was actually kind of _creepy_. Probably? He didn't see anyone else drawing their crushes in their notes-Ivan and Mylene never did it, that's for sure. Was it because he was an artist, or was he really a creeper? Maybe he should get into landscapes? He could probably make more money painting landscapes than drawing the same girl over and over again, even if she was beautiful. Even _self_ -portraits would be less creepy; maybe a bit conceited, but not creepy?

His parents had been asking him questions about her anyways. At least, whenever they were _around._ Which was rare, but every time they were around, they asked. It was getting annoying, to be honest. Leave him alone to an empty house for five years, then suddenly start asking him about his crushes every chance they got as if they were a normal close-knit family or something? They only started coming back into his life when they heard about the Evillustrator's little library stunt and put two and two together. Didn't care enough before, why did they care _now_ all of a sudden?

His phone buzzed in his pocket, prompting him to look at it again.

Rose: [I figured you'd be here, at Marinette's birthday party! Is everything okay?]

Nathanael nearly dropped his phone. _Marinette_ was the one throwing the big party?! How had he not put the pieces together! Everyone loved talking to Marinette, and it was her birthday today! That's why he had been trying to give her the present! God, he was so stupid-

 _And she hadn't invited him._ Even as a shudder racked his body, he was typing out his next message to Rose. She deserved to know why he wasn't there, to quit worrying over him and have fun at the party.

Nathanael: [Rose, I wasn't invited.]

He felt his heart sink as a sigh escaped him. She had invited everyone in class except Chloe, Sabrina, and _him._ Had she really lumped him in a group of uninvitables with _that_ twosome of terror?! Was he really that creepy, so creepy she was scared to invite him to a birthday party?! Or… did she _hate_ him? Hate him as much as she hated Chloe? Was it because of what had happened when he was the Evillustrator? He _had_ tried to drown her… oh, dear God, he had manipulated her into going on a date with her and then tried to _drown her, of course she'd hate him!_ How could he be so stupid, how could he have ever possibly thought he had a chance! Marinette was this beautiful, nice and kind girl and he was just some creep that sat in the back of the class drawing her over and over and over and over and-

He stormed over to his desk and began scribbling out the drawing he had been working on, then ripping it out of his sketchbook and tearing it to pieces, pencil gripped like a dagger. His tool of creation was now a tool of destruction as he began to X out or scribble out every single drawing he had done of her.

Hawkmoth's window had whirred open the minute he stepped into the room, the sudden light sending his butterflies in a fluttering frenzy as his footsteps disturbed them from their rest. He felt such negative feelings in the air. Somewhere in Paris, someone was waiting to be akumatized. Someone he had akumatized before. He had been distracted before, but now… The Evillustrator was ready to strike revenge on the one who had broken his heart. He just needed a bit of coaxing.

"Ah, hopes and dreams shattered and emotions laid bare. The heart of an artist was broken today. Perfect prey for my akuma!" he held out his hand, and almost immediately a butterfly obeyed his call and landed in his palm. He sent dark energy through it until it was black and purple; a powerful akuma, capable of forcing whoever it possessed to obey his every will. As soon as he was done, it flew away, delicate wings taking to the air and homing in on its target. "Fly away my little akuma! Make this broken heart go cold as ice!"

Nathanael was halfway done. At this point, tears were already beginning to make their way down his face. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He hadn't cried in a long time, and everything was bursting forth. Every time he had ever needed to cry but hadn't let himself was pushing its way into his head, even when he tried to hold them back. But most of all, the fact that the nicest girl in class despised him. Even thinking of Marinette brought a fresh wave of tears in his eyes. His delicate drawings were being ruined by the pencil just as much as by his tears.

He heard his phone vibrate and turned to look at it. Probably Rose again. He went for his phone but saw a blur of black before his veins ran cold and a purple haze overtook his vision.

"This is your chance to exact revenge on the girl who wronged you. You've suffered a great injustice, Evillustrator, and I am willing to help you right your wrongs. All I ask is a few items in return. This is your second chance. Are you willing to take it?" a deep voice purred in his head. Hawkmoth wanted to take control of him again, to make him disappear and inject the Evillustrator into his place.

After being akumatized once, one would think he would have been able to resist. And a part of him screamed for him, begged for him to stop, to not let him win. But it was just the smallest part. He had been hurt so much, and now he had a chance to express it in something more than just some worthless drawing…

" _Gladly._ " the venom in his voice was thick, and all sense of reason seemed to die away, all sense of Nathanael seemed to die as the shadows enveloped him and his body went numb.

* * *

This is Chapter 1, I have two more chapters to go! This one was kind of short, but the next one is fairly long, and then the last one is kind of short again. Sorry about that. But I hoped you liked it!


	2. Purification

Here's chapter 2! I was working on the 3rd chapter, and I figured I might add a 4th chapter after all! The hurricane shouldn't hit until the morning or later than that, so if we still have power I'll definitely start that.

Until then, here's chapter 2 for you all to enjoy!

* * *

Samantha Kurtzberg was beginning to grow concerned.

After hearing that her son had been akumatized, she and her husband had made it a point to try to be there for him. He seemed to resist at every turn. Maybe they were going too fast. With their jobs at the Louvre, they couldn't be around much for a very long time. But once they heard the news, they had made it a point to use more of their days off to be home with their son.

Michael was asleep, so she was the only one who heard the sobs coming from her son's bedroom. She stood and made her way to his room when the sobs suddenly stopped. Strange. Something was off here.

"Nathanael?" Samantha knocked on the door softly. Perhaps her son was asleep? No response-not to her. She heard one word, as if he was talking to someone else.

" _Gladly._ " she blanched, fear growing in her veins. _That did not sound like her son._ It sounded dark, vicious, bitter and angry. Like someone else,something else. Needless to say, she was concerned.

"Nathanael!" she knocked again. No response, yet again, but all she heard was a low… gurgling sound, and a weird black mist billowed under the door. She tried the handle. It wasn't locked. She whipped the door open and her heart stopped.

 _Could someone be akumatized twice?!_

She wasn't looking at her son. Instead, she was face to face with a being the same height as her son, but she refused to believe it was him. He looked too… _strong._ His skin was purple, and a striped bodysuit faded to dark purple, then red. A black circle adorned his chest, with smaller circles of the primary colors inside. A tablet was strapped to his right arm, a pencil in his left. A dark purple beret sat atop his head, and his red hair was pushed to the side in large paintbrush-like locks. But behind his purple domino mask, were two familiar eyes that told her everything she needed to know, despite the unfamiliar hatred in them.

The Evillustrator stood before her. But most importantly, her son did. He was hurt, and he needed to be saved from the beast that had taken over him.

The only problem was he clearly didn't want help.

He narrowed his eyes and started drawing on his tablet, glaring at her the whole time. Before she could react, everything was tinted in blue and she found herself trapped in a box with no way out.

"Nathanael! Nathanael, please, stop this!" She begged, trying to find a way out of her trap.

"Nathanael is no more. Deal with it." His voice came through the box, muted as if she was hearing him from underwater. He smirked maliciously and banged a hand against the walls of the box before drawing a jetpack for himself and soaring out of their apartment.

* * *

Marinette's party was amazing!

All of her friends seemed to be having fun, dancing to the music or drinking the punch and eating the cookies she had prepared. _Adrien_ was even there! Somehow, Marinette had managed to muster up the courage to ask him to come, and he was more than glad to! Granted, she had Alya with her when she asked, _but still!_

There he was, across the room, drinking punch and listening to Nino's jokes and Kim's boasts, a smile on his face. Ivan and Mylene were chatting with Max, Mylene perched upon her partner's shoulders. Alya came from the restroom and pulled Nino to the center of the living room, which Marinette had set up as the dance floor. Her parents were already there, dancing and laughing. Marinette grinned, seeing all of her friends enjoying themselves, until she noticed Rose, Juleka, and Alix standing in the corner looking at Rose's phone. They all looked… Worried. Was something wrong?

Marinette came over curiously. "Hey, guys! Is everything okay?"

"Nathanael's a bit sad that he didn't get invited to the party." Rose sighed.

"And he's not responding to _any_ of our messages," Juleka added. Marinette's breath caught in her throat.

 _Oh god, she_ had _forgotten someone!_

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"Why didn't you invite him?" Alix asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I… I must've forgotten somehow, it must've slipped my mind! Oh, gosh, I'm such a wreck! Um, t-tell him that if he wants to come over, he can!"

"I'll see if I can reach his number, but-" Rose was cut off by a shout. Everyone turned to see someone standing in the window, the glass being erased from existence as he made a motion on his tablet. Then he stepped into the room, blue eyes narrowed.

"What a wonderful party. And yet, _I_ wasn't invited!" he hissed, his ice cold glare sweeping over the room.

"Nathanael?!" Marinette's eyes widened as she recognized the Evillustrator. It was simply unmistakable, it was definitely him, but how-?!

"Nathanael? _Nathanael?!_ " he let out a wicked laugh. "All this time, and _now_ you care about _Nathanael?! Too late!_ Nathanael has been _erased!_ And now… So will all of _you!_ "

Before anyone could react, the floor below most of everyone disappeared with a sweep of the akuma's hands, sending everyone plummeting into the bakery below them. The only one who remained was Marinette, standing upon a single tile that somehow remained floating. The Evillustrator made a line of panels bridging the gap between them as he walked over.

"And _you._ Let's make the wicked witch suffer, _shall we?!_ " he growled, the pure hatred in his eyes sending Marinete backing up-off the tile. She fell with a scream, only to be caught by her father.

"We won't let you hurt our daughter!" he shouted up at him.

"Do you _really_ think you can _stop_ me? That's almost funny enough to make me laugh! But not quite." with a fluid motion of his hand, the Evillustrator drew spinning blades that were aimed right for the small family. They wouldn't be able to dodge in time! Marinete felt her father's grip on her tighten.

Suddenly a broom and a mop struck the center of them, knocking them to the ground. The blades disappeared afterwards. The Evillustrator grit his teeth before turning to see who would _dare_ interrupt, only to find the one and only Adrien Agreste holding more tools from the supply closet.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" he shouted, throwing a bottle of glass cleaner at the villain. He simply bat it away before drawing on his tablet. A giant weight appeared over Adrien's head before it began to fall. The classmates could only watch in horror as it crashed down in a cloud of dust.

"Adrien!" Nino screamed, about to run over only to be stopped by Alya. When the dust settled, they found that Adrien had somehow managed to roll out from under it before it fell, and was okay.

"Who says we should run?!" Kim asked panickedly, to the point where it was more of a shout.

"Bet I can beat you there!" Alix shouted back before they ran out of the bakery, the rest of the partygoers following and scattering in all directions. Her parents and Adrien ran as well, Marinette's father still carrying her.. The Evillustrator just laughed and flew after them, tailing after the family.

"Dad! Dad, put me down! He's after _me!_ " Marinette begged.

"We need to find Ladybug so she can protect you!" her mother said. If only they knew they were _holding_ Ladybug!

"Mom! I can run faster than you guys, I'll just go hide and you guys can find Ladybug!" she managed to squirm her way out of her father's arms and began running as if her life depended on it, because it did.

"Marinette!" her mother screamed. Tom grabbed her and ducked around a corner just as Marinette sprinted around another. Almost an instant later, the Evillustrator rounded the bend and found the two.

"Where is she?!" he shouted.

"She-She's gone! You can't get to her anymore!" Tom said, trying to stay firm even as his voice shook.

"Tell me where she is or _you'll_ suffer in her place!"

"We don't know! Leave us alone!" Sabine demanded. He narrowed his eyes before a nasty smirk stretched across his face.

"Sounds like you've made your choice!"

* * *

Marinette ran around a corner, putting even more distance between herself and her parents. Her lungs were burning, but she didn't let herself stop running until she rounded another bend and ducked into an alleyway. She opened her purse and Tikki flew out, eyes already wide with worry.

"Tikki, this is all my fault, this wouldn't have happened if I had remembered to invite Nathanael!" she sighed, trying to catch her breath. Her mind was frazzling at the ends, panic surging through her veins. With his abilities, the Evillustrator was arguably one of the hardest villains she'd ever had to face, and he seemed even _more_ pissed than last time.

"We can fix the problem between you and Nathanael later! Right now, we have to stop the Evillustrator before he finds you again!" Tikki squeaked.

"Right! Tikki, Spots On!" Marinette felt the magic flowing through her, and with it came a calming sense of security. She could fix this. She had defeated him before, she could do it again.

She was Ladybug. And she hadn't failed yet.

She cast out her yo-yo until it latched onto a precipice in the distance, and she used that to take off swinging towards where she figured the Evillustrator thought she would be. Then she heard her parents scream and twisted until she soared in that direction instead.

Tom and Sabine were curled up to each other, clinging to each other for dear life as a giant dragon with purple, white, and black stripes stood before them, the Evillustrator on its back, laughing madly as its mouth sparked with flames it seemed ready to blow out. Quickly, Marinette lassoed her yo-yo around the beast's jaws and pulled tight, snapping them closed. The Evillustrator turned her way.

"Ladybug!" he spat out her name like venom, scribbling something on his tablet even as the dragon burst into blue sparks, and then nothingness. The distraction provided her parents a chance to run to safety, which Ladybug was grateful for even as she flipped back to avoid a spinning blade. She popped back up from her acrobatic stunt only to see a giant punching glove aimed right for her head, with no time to dodge it. Luckily, a silver baton pierced through it, reducing it to blue sparks as well. She looked up to see her partner, Chat Noir, leaping down to stand beside her. The team was together, and surely unstoppable now.

The Evillustrator grit his teeth when suddenly a purple butterfly-shaped mirage overtook his eyes. He quirked an eyebrow before smirking.

"You two have something I want. Hand it over, and we can get this over with the easy way!" he demanded, holding his hand out as if expecting them to fork over their Miraculouses right then and there.

"No way! You'll have to catch us first!" Ladybug taunted.

"So be it!" he touched his stylus to the yellow circle on his chest before drawing straight lines on his tablet. Almost immediately, yelow jolts of electricity arced out of his tablet and towards them, forcing them to dive away or risk electrocution. A flash of red from the Evillustrator's direction prompted them to look up, just in time to see a dozen flying monkeys shooting red arrows at them that exploded on contact. How did he draw that fast?!

Chat tackled Ladybug away from the impending attack before using his baton to swing at one of the monkeys, knocking it into a wall and reducing it to fleeting red sparks.

"Well, he definitely isn't monkeying around this time!" Chat quipped, prompting a groan from his lady.

"Now is not the time!" she sighed. Last time, the akuma was in his stylus, surely it would be in there again, right? At least, it was their best bet. But he seemed stronger than he had been before. At least, this whole colored dots thing was new. They'd always been on his costume, but she didn't recall them ever affecting his abilities. Everything was becoming so complicated now. Maybe they could end this quickly.

Ladybug swung back before casting her yo-yo at his drawing hand. If she could stop him from drawing, all they had to do was get rid of those _annoying_ monkeys he kept drawing. She glanced over and punched one that had made its way over to her, only to realize _they had her face._ Well, Marinette's face, but _still._ God, she hated this.

The Evillustrator had seen it coming. He touched the blue circle on his chest before drawing a spiraling line on his tablet. Immediately, the yo-yo changed course and tangled itself around Ladybug. She couldn't react in time and accidentally tightened the yoyo-string, tripping herself up and sending her crashing to the floor. With Chat Noir distracted by the flying monkeys he had created, now was the perfect time for the Evillustrator to take her Miraculous.

Even as he walked over, he heard the dark purr of his Master beckoning him on, a purple haze overtaking his vision.

" _Yes, yes! Seize her miraculous!"_ he crooned. Ladybug's eyes widened when she seemed to realize what he was up to.

"Chat Noir! Help!" she called out, but the Evillustrator clamped a hand over her mouth while his other hand went to her earrings. Even as his fingers drew near, he could feel the incredible power they contained tingling through his veins.

" _I'll_ be taking _these,_ " he said with a smirk. Just as he was about to take the first one off, he was forced to jump back as a silvery baton nearly hit him in the head. He grit his teeth when he saw that Ladybug's _stupid sidekick_ had come over to distract him, giving time for the spotted superheroine to (rather pathetically) roll away. Chat Noir held the baton threateningly to his neck, an eyebrow quirked as the Evillustrator was forced to step backwards.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he quipped, smirking. The purple-skinned villain grit his teeth as he looked for an escape, only to find dozens of civilians snapping photos of and recording what was happening. Which gave him a vague idea.

His short stature gave him somewhat of an advantage, as he ducked under the baton and charged at the leather-clad hero. Before he could react or defend himself, he kneed him in the groin before flipping away, relishing seeing the cat in pain. Then he turned and began drawing boxes of different heights, which dropped down from the sky and trapped the citizens inside, but offering a sort of staircase for him to bound up and plot his next move. He almost tripped as the purple haze took over his vision yet again, making it hard to see the blue boxes and prompting him to stop.

" _What are you doing?!"_ Hawkmoth shouted. _"You should have taken his miraculous when you had the chance!"_

"Oh, I- _fuck!_ " he was about to turn around and pin Chat Noir down and take his Miraculous or whatever, only to find the feline fucker swinging his baton at his head like a baseball bat. It hit his temple, and the pain was enough to send him toppling off the box he had been perched on and to the ground. _Ow._

He looked to his left and saw Ladybug still desperately trying to free herself from her own tangled-up yoyo mess. A perfect opportunity to steal her Miraculous, had it not been for this _stupid cat boy trying to hit his head again!_ He had no choice but to defend himself first, maybe get Shit Noir out of the way and take his Miraculous first before Spots could get free. With his new strength, he backflipped onto a box, and drew on his tablet before Chat Noir could reach him. His stylus became a sword, but the hilt still had the stylus tip that was so essential to his future attacks. Sure, it would probably be hard to draw with a sword, but at least he could-actually, what the hell was he thinking?! He'd just have to roll with it. Using a sword couldn't be _that_ hard, could it?

Chat Noir came charging his way again, but the Evillustrator felt pretty prepared, given he had been winging it for the past ten minutes of his existence. When Chat Noir came to swing, he blocked the blow with his sword. Just like he had seen in Star Wars. He took a step backwards, until he was up on another box, and another. He had to keep the high ground to keep his current advantage, which was swinging wildly so that his opponent could barely make his way any closer. Hey, it had worked in Wii Sports.

Maybe he shouldn't rely on video games and movies for combat techniques.

Ladybug was still struggling with her current predicament when someone ran over and began helping her. She looked up to find Rose untangling the yoyo string for her until her arms were free. Ladybug grinned and stood up, brushing herself off.

"Thank you!" Rose smiled and waved. But before Ladybug could rush back into the battle, she stopped her.

"Wait! That's my friend, Nathanael! Please don't hurt him!" her hands clasped together at her chest, her eyes wide with concern.

"Don't worry, we'll save your friend! Just go to a safe spot, and we'll handle this!" Rose nodded before running off to where Juleka hid behind a tree, the two of them linking hands before running off down the street. Ladybug then turned to where Chat Noir and the Evillustrator were fighting atop the boxes he had caged people in earlier. This was the best time she could possibly get to use her Lucky charm. May as well before she lost the chance.

"Lucky Charm!" she exclaimed, tossing her yoyo up into the air as streaks of magic surrounded it. It coalesced into a shape before it fell into her hands. "Wha-a bag of marbles?"

The Evillustrator heard her and scoffed. "Do you really think you can stop me with _those?!_ Fat chance, Lady Bitch!"

"Hey! Language!" she huffed, crossing her arms as she looked around for any indication on how to use the round stones in her hand. That's when an idea came to her.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir and the Evillustrator were still sparring atop the boxes, one trying to knock the other off to take advantage of the distraction to grab the item they needed from the other. They weren't really getting anywhere; Chat Noir couldn't get any closer, but the Evillustrator couldn't draw anything to retaliate, and whatever he did was small, hurried, and near-harmless.

"Chat Noir!" his leather ears twitched as he heard his lady call his name, but he couldn't turn to acknowledge her. "Use your cataclysm! Trust me!"

"Got it, Ladybug! _Cataclysm!_ " he felt the dark energy gather around his hand, and knew he had to be careful in order to not hit the wrong thing. He had a gut feeling he knew what she wanted, and went with it, slamming his hand against the box the Evillustrator was standing upon, ducking under a swing of his sword. The box disappeared into sparks, sending the villain falling with a shout to the ground. The box was pretty high off the ground, leaving ample time for the previously-imprisoned civilian to run out of the way. The boy landed hard, but was almost immediately up again, glaring and running towards Ladybug until he suddenly slipped on something under his feet-the marbles!

His hand instinctively reached out beneath him to save his fall, but this action accidentally caused him to let go of his stylus and send it right to Ladybug's waiting hands. She grinned and broke it, and the resounding snap sent a shudder through his body. Whether it was the flash of pain that caused it, or the haunting frustrated screams of Hawkmoth echoing in his brain, he wasn't sure. His blood seemed on fire and cold as ice at once.

"No more evil doing for you, little akuma! _Time to de-evilize!_ " Ladybug swung her glowing yoyo around before catching it inside and closing it, only setting it free once it had been purified to a delicate snowy white. "Bye bye, little butterfly…" she took a marble from the ground and tossed it into the air with a triumphant shout. _"Miraculous Ladybug!_ "

The Evillustrator could only watch as glowing red ladybugs swarmed through the city, erasing any damage that had been caused and leaving no evidence. Leaving no evidence that he had ever existed besides fleeting, impermanent memories. He felt himself receding, but at the same time felt something else-someone else, taking its place. A blurry shape at first, but it began to push him out, push him away, as Nathanael finally returned from the land of the asleep, the dead, the world of the nonexisting he was being forced into now. He tried to cling on to something, _anything,_ so that he wouldn't have to disappear, but…

Nathanael blinked, vision blurry for a moment until he rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was in the middle of the street, in a park somewhere, with the two heroes of Paris exchanging a celebratory fist-bump between them-ugh, he'd done it _again,_ hadn't he?!

The memory of why threatened to bring fresh tears to his face once again, as he curled his knees to his chest and tried to block out the world. He _had_ to get a hold on his emotions! Hell, he had just been akumatized a second time already, and he didn't want it to happen again! He bit his lip in an effort to stop the tears, but it didn't really work.

Then he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Ladybug there, eyes kind but worried. Dear God, there he was, crying and runny-nosed in front of the Heroes of Paris, how humiliating.

"Hey, Nathanael? Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down to his level. Honestly, anyone else probably would've said yes. It was proper etiquette to not lay your feelings bare on someone who was asking a question that usually didn't mean more than a social nicety. But he had already gotten in trouble for bottling up his emotions. So, he wiped his eyes and told her.

"Not really… My crush, Marinette, she, ah… she didn't invite me to her birthday. I think it was because I tried to drown her last time? And, I feel like some crappy creep, and I guess Hawkmoth found me again and… yeah…" he sighed. He felt like a bit of the heavy weight on his heart had been lifted. The break wasn't healed, but it wasn't as festering and chaotic either, now that he had gotten his emotions in order.

Ladybug let out a sympathetic sigh. "I see… well, I've met Marinette once or twice before, and I doubt she intentionally didn't invite you. There must've been a mixup or something. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you dropped by her party to hang out."

Nathanael felt his skin go cold. "Oh, gosh, I totally ruined her party, she must totally hate me now…"

"I doubt it. Whatever you did is fixed already, I'm sure the party will be back up and running before you know it." her earrings beeped and her hand instinctively went to her ears. "I need to go. But try going to that party. I'm sure it'll go great!"

"Alright. Thanks Ladybug." he smiled, a burst of confidence coursing its way through his veins. He stood the same moment she did, and realized that they were about the same height. Some sense of familiarity burned at the back of his mind, but there was some sort of disconnect that kept him from acknowledging it. His mind wandered. Should he go pick up his present? Or just give it to Marinette another day? Another day would be fine. Perhaps Monday, at school. Or he could swing by Sunday afternoon. Would that be weird?

"No problem, Nathanael. Good luck!" Ladybug waved as she cast out her yoyo, before tugging it tight and launching off into the blue afternoon sky. Chat Noir offered a quick salute before heading off himself. Nathanael couldn't help but grin as he made his way to Marinette's house.

* * *

I also have another fanficiton idea that I figured I would tell you about, in case you're interested and I get around to doing it.

As you may have heard, the United States has a sort of clown problem at the moment. So, imagine if Paris had one...?

Might start a new series I do. Who knows, maybe a certain someone will get a Miraculous.

Feel free to follow me here or on any other accounts I have for updates on me and what's going on and my current status and also if you want to see some art! All other profiles are on my profile!

I hope you have a wonderful day!


	3. Joy

This is the last chapter I had originally planned for this story, and therefore the last chapter I have pre-written. I might do a Chapter 4. Maybe.

Asides from the fanfic series I mentioned last chapter, I also had some one-shot ideas that I might wind up finishing and posting here. I have been on a Miraculous Ladybug high lately, and have had tons of ideas for stories and drawings I have been just churning out at all times, and now that I have two days off this weekend it's ironically the perfect time to distract myself from my panic by writing fanfiction!

I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far!

* * *

Nathanael had grinned the whole way to Marinette's house, humming a tune he knew. His heart was elated, his head in the clouds… Until he got there. The music had already started back up, he could hear it from outside. Fear coursed through his veins. What if she still hated him, what if his class hated him?! A blurry image of erasing the floor beneath Marinette's friends and family and sending them toppling to the bakery below. He'd threatened her, threatened her family, how stupid _was_ he, she wouldn't want-

He felt his hand move towards the doorbell and press the button. He couldn't help but let out a scandalous gasp at his traitorous hand and whipped it behind his back, but he heard the buzz and knew it was far too late. Maybe he should run and hide? It's not like anyone would notice he was gone, he was losing time, he needed to hide-

The door opened and he found himself face-to-face with a huge, burly man that was practically twice his height. His mustache twitched into a smile.

"Are you Nathanael?" He asked, offering a hand. "I'm Tom, Marinette's father. Come on in!"

"Um. I-I-I probably shouldn't go, I wasn't invited, I don't know why I-" Tom grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in suddenly, bringing him face-to-face with Marinette. Nathanael's face immediately exploded into a wild blush at the sight of her.

"Hi, Nathan-" she began, but before she could finish a surge of guilt overtook him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry, I'm sorry for everything I did, I-"

"Nathanael, it's okay!" she quickly said, waving her hands in a 'stop stop stop' motion before continuing. "It wasn't you who did that, it was the Evillustrator! And, it was my fault." she shifted on her feet awkwardly, her gaze shifting down to the floor. "I completely forgot your email address, if I had remembered to invite you none of this would have happened! I'm really sorry, I understand if you're mad at me."

"Mad at you? Marinette, I could never be mad at you, you're the sweetest, nicest girl in class! Honestly… I thought you didn't invite me because you hated me after… after last time."

"Oh, no no no, I don't hate you, I know that was-wait. You really think all of those kind things about me?" her cheeks erupted in a blush and oh, oh god, please do that again, it was so adorable he was going to die.

"I don't think so; I know so."

"Aw, Nathanael, you're so sweet! Hey, the party's upstairs, let's go!' at that, Marinette grabbed his hand and led him upstairs to the living room, where the rest of the class (sans Chloe and Sabrina) were all enjoying themselves. Rose squealed and ran over, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"Nathanael! You're okay, I'm so so glad you're okay!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down even as she was hugging him. Alix and Juleka walked over, a bit more calmly, but still grinning.

"Glad to see you not purple," Alex joked, punching his arm.

"It was so totally wicked awesome!" Juleka rested an arm on his head, showing off her height and eliciting a light hearted glare from her friend.

"You were so cool!" Kim added from the punch table, where he was chatting with Adrien and Nino. "Remind me never to piss _you_ off!"

"Nathanael's always cool!" Rose pouted. Nathanael found himself awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, which was beginning to heat up with a blush.

"Well, uh, thanks, but I don't always turn into a purple supervillain when I'm upset." he said.

"I'd think you'd be more concerned about pissing off Ivan. Remember what happened last time?" Juleka quipped. Ooh, someone was feeling sassy today.

Ivan sputtered out a laugh nearby, an arm wrapped around the tiny Mylene. "I think just about everyone in class has been akumatized except Adrien and Marinette! You'd probably want to be careful pissing off anyone in Paris at this rate!"

Adrien blinked in sudden realization as Nino turned to him. "Yeah, bro, what's your secret to not getting akumatized? Did your old man teach you how to control your anger or something?"

"Uh? Actually, I dunno. Guess I kinda had to teach myself. Or maybe I'm just lucky." the blonde shrugged.

"What about you, Marinette?" Alya draped an arm around her best friend. "How do you keep from getting angry."

Her friend hesitated a bit before a mischievous smirk suddenly crossed her face. "That's my secret, Alya. I'm always angry." the class giggled at her answer.

"Honestly, though, maybe Chloe is Hawkmoth. She's caused who knows how many people to be akumatized?" Juleka suggested, eliciting another small fit of giggles from the class.

"Let's count. Thus far; Ivan, Alix, Alya, Nathanael, Mr. Raincomprix in a sense, Kim, Mylene, Rose, Juleka, and Sabrina, and most likely many others in the future."

"Well, I mean, saying people who have caused akumas are Hawkmoth is like saying Chat Noir is Hawkmoth because he caused CopyCat, or that my father's Hawkmoth because he caused Simon Says and Bubbler." Adrien countered

"Who knows, he could be! He's stoic and creepy." Nino shrugged

"True, but he's so busy with work, he wouldn't have the time to harass every single upset person in Paris!"

"Yeah, that's true, I guess."

"So, when's the cake coming out?" Kim said, trying to change the subject.

"In a few minutes. I'll bring out extra seats!"

"I'll help!" Nathanael and Adrien both offered at the same time. Marinette blushed.

"Oh, you guys don't have to, I've got it!"

"But, Marinette, i-it's your birthday! You should relax and celebrate it." Nathanael said.

"Well, I guess, but I'm also hosting the party, so I should probably-"

"No worries! We've got it! But thanks, Marinette!" Adrien grinned, causing Marinette's face to turn even pinker as she began stuttering. Adrien looked confused for a bit-oh, oh lord, he's so clueless. Even Nathanael could tell Marinette had a huge crush on Adrien, how could Adrien not see it?

The two boys went down into the basement together, where Marinette had the chairs stored. It took a few trips, but they eventually got enough extra seats up to the living room without any problems. On the last trip, Nathanael couldn't take it anymore.

"What, are you so clueless that you can't tell Marinette likes you?" he suddenly blurted out. Adrien turned, two chairs under his arms and staring, wide eyed and confused.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked. Nathanael sighed.

"Marinette has a crush on you. The whole class knows it, the whole school knows it, practically all of Paris knows, and somehow _you_ don't. How?"

"Um… I'm sorry, I really wasn't aware. I guess it was all that homeschooling? And… why are you telling me this? Don't _you_ like Marinette?"

Nathanael paused. Why _was_ he telling him? They were technically love rivals; and Adrien was winning the game without even knowing he was playing. Why give him an advantage? That's when the redhead realized.

"Well, I admit, I do like Marinette. But… I do want to see Marinette happy. Whether she's happy with me, or with you, or whoever is making her happy and treating her as she deserves, I don't particularly mind. And I know you like Ladybug, I can respect that. I just wanted to let you know, so you'd at least know what was going on. And let her down _gently,_ if you decide to do so. Otherwise, some dumb bodyguard won't be able to save you from me."

If possible, Adrien's eyes got even wider. All he could do was nod in response. He tightened his grip on the chairs and went up the stairs. Nathanael sighed. Well, that was a dumb move. Everyone in the class was so close to each other, but everyone liked Adrien probably more than him. If he had to face the wrath of Adrien., he'd have to face the wrath of maybe half the class as well. _And_ his bodyguard. Who he just called dumb. _Holy shit_ , he was in for it.

He'd worry about that later. It was Marinette's party, he wanted her to be happy and he wanted to focus on enjoying the time with friends. He couldn't have Adrien's huge bodyguard on his mind and do that. So with a final heft of his noodle arms, he picked up the last two chairs and carried them up to the living room. And just in time for cake, too.

As the class of Francois-Dupont High School gathered with her family to sing Happy Birthday to the best girl in class, Nathanael realized just how awesome his class was. Sure, they might piss each other off at times, but they were a nice, big, group of friends that sometimes felt more like family. They were always there for each other, before and after an akuma attacks, they supported one another. Hell, even Kim had commissioned him for art a few weeks ago, and Nathanael had thought he never noticed him! He wouldn't want to be in any other class, doing anything else this afternoon than spending time with his friends.

Screw Hawkmoth. Even when he was sad, his friends would be there for him, always. No matter what antics Chloe was up to, or who broke whose heart, they could rely on each other and not some manipulative power boost for comfort. Birthday cake was far better than akumas.

* * *

If I end up posting another chapter or another fanfic soon, take that as an indication I am still alive. The worst of Hurricane Matthew should be done by Saturday in my area, so feel free to check up on me then! But don't worry about me too much either.

I hope you all have beautiful, wonderful, fabulous days!


	4. Offerings

This is absolutely without a doubt the last chapter of this story. This chapter took me awhile to write, but after getting high on cold medicine for the weekend and the getting a sick day off of school, it's done! I hope you guys like this story! I've definitely got more ideas up my sleeves!

Also, sorry if I worried anyone in the author's notes earlier! I was scared and panicking, but as it turns out the hurricane barely even reached us! I am alive, although I think the colder weather has gotten me ill. No worries though!

Now, onwards to the story!

* * *

Nathanael fished in his pocket for the key to his apartment even before he got to the door. His fingers grasped nothing but a few pencils. Did he not have it with him? Why hadn't he brought it when he went out?

Wait, that was a stupid question. The Evillustrator didn't even have pockets. He wouldn't have carried a key out the house with him.

Luckily, they always kept a key under the dirt of the little potted plant they had out by the front door. He searched through the pot, rewarded with dirty hands and a house key. He could finally go inside, quietly so maybe he wouldn't wake his parents.

Everything's too loud when you're trying to be sneaky, the click of the lock seeming to echo throughout the entire world as he tried to slip inside. When he closed the door again, he found both of his parents on the couch. They looked up at him before jumping to their feet.

"Nathanael! You're okay!" his mother exclaimed.

"Where were you?!" his father asked. Nathanael sighed, scarcely disguising a roll of his eyes.

"I was at a friend's party, and I'm fine, but I don't really feel like-" he didn't get a chance to finish when his mother gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Nathanael, why didn't you tell us what was wrong?! We could've helped, we could've been there for-"

"No, you couldn't have! And you wouldn't have, either!" he pushed himself away from her choking embrace, towards his room. "You guys haven't been around for the past five years except for teacher conferences with Ms. Mendeleev, and then you act like perfect, concerned parents who care about your son _so much_ until the meeting's over, and then you just go back to work and disappear from my life for the next month! I never get the chance to tell you anything, and I don't _want_ to tell you anything! Even if I did, Hawkmoth works fast and you're never close enough to do anything! I don't want your damn efforts to make up for how long you've been gone! I don't want you pretending to care about me, I don't want you acting like we're such a close family and we all love each other because you don't, and I _really_ don't want to talk to you right now so _leave me the hell alone!_ " he stormed to his room and slammed the door behind him, locking it before either of his parents could intrude. He heard his father banging on the door demanding to be let in, but he ignored it. His heart was beating too fast in his chest. Oh, god, had he really done that? THey were gonna kill him first chance they got probably. Not literally, of course. He prayed not literally.

He slid his earbuds in and started listening to music. He could already tell he was riled up. Was it possible to get akumatized again? It was clearly possible to get akumatized more than once, but twice in the same day? There were two Timebreakers, but one had traveled back in time to the same moment she had been akumatized before. Did that count? Hawkmoth's power was complex, but… Nathanael didn't want to find out. He changed the song to some slower tunes he usually used while drawing more serious pieces. It was nice and soothing, and he felt his nerves relax as he let his mind wander on to better things…

* * *

 _He opened his eyes and found himself in a room full of butterflies, some white and some glowing with dark energy. He had his tablet on his arm, his stylus in hand as he wandered through. He was Super Nathanael; he felt the power tingling in his veins and the sense of an important mission on his shoulders. He looked down and found it was an older design for him, from 3ème. He felt his shoulders relax as he felt the striped cape in his hands. He wasn't that_ monster. _Now then… He looked around his surroundings, noticing the stained glass window and the high ceiling. It gave off an eerie feel, a sense of evil seeming to just seep from the walls. What was he doing? He felt the evil, the manipulation, and knew he was looking for a target, a malicious villain… Finding Hawkmoth, perhaps?_

 _He heard low, wicked laughter and whipped around to find a man in dark purples and blacks behind him, standing amongst a majority of the butterflies. He'd recognize that mask anywhere though; everyone had seen Hawkmoth's stand during the Stoneheart incident. And though his image had been made up of a swarm of darkened butterflies, it was recognizable in person. It was the Big Bad, in person. The man he'd been looking for. Now he had to defeat him._

 _He pointed his cane to the ceiling with another laugh, and a ripple of dark magic shot through the room. All of the darkened butterflies started twisting and convulsing and growing and turning into… akumas. Reflekta, Rogercop, Pharaoh, Stormy Weather-every akuma Ladybug and Chat Noir had ever faced was there in that room, lunging towards him. He slid under Stoneheart's legs before popping back up on one knee to draw a box that fell from the sky and trapped Lady Wifi, barely dodging a pause rune she'd cast his way. He immediately had to flip backwards to avoid a shot from Pixelator, and ducked around a corner to come up with a more solid plan. Maybe he could box them all in? But could he draw the boxes that fast_ and _avoid their attacks?_

 _A shot of lightning arced around the wall, reminding him that his problem was still around the corner and probably fast approaching. He turned and ran further into the labyrinth that had lead to the butterfly room. He and the rest of his team had split up further back to get the job done, and he really needed a hand right now._

 _It wasn't long until he found Ladybug and Chat Noir. He quickly debriefed them on the situation, and just in time, as they heard heavy footsteps behind them. They turned out to be Stoneheart, with a brigade of akuma's behind him. They all tensed into battle stances, all trying to come up with a plan._

 _Pharaoh clapped his hands together, sending a shockwave that knocked them back into the wall. Super Nathan managed to get himself off the ground fast enough to draw a wall to block Princess Fragrance's controlling perfume. Couldn't have them working for the enemy, now could he? Ladybug and Chat Noir were back up at this point, and they leaped over the wall to fight the akumas._

 _With the whole team together, things went much more smoothly. These akumas weren't used to firing at three targets, let alone firing at three targets and trying to work together with other akumas. Soon, they were all tangled up with each other, or immobilized with each other's attacks._

" _Did you find Hawkmoth?" Ladybug asked as she looked at their handiwork._

" _He's back there, in the atrium. I'll lead you out of this mess." Super Nathanael tossed his head in the right direction before they all ran off._

 _Sure enough, Hawkmoth was still there, and out of pre-made akumas. He took two butterflies in each hand and they became black and purple, twisting into new forms. His allies beside him gasped in horror at what they saw, and Super Nathanael felt his grip on his pencil tighten. Because, now standing beside Hawkmoth, were a black and purple-spotted Ladybug and a white-clad Chat. They wielded their weapons and prowled forwards to attack. They seemed equal matches to the real Ladybug and Chat Noir, and soon their battle was at a stalemate, even with the help Super Nathanael tried to offer._

 _Hawkmoth's wicked laugh echoed in his head, and the room began to darken. He froze in the spot, his blood going cold. "Your efforts are useless, Nathanael. Do you really think you can fight me for much longer? You've fallen to me before, you'll fall to me again."_

 _Super Nathanael felt himself turning, and immediately wished he hadn't. He stood face to face with the new design, the Collège design, the monstrous inner demon… the_ Evillustrator. _He wore a nasty smirk, his own tablet and pen ready to cast deadly attacks. Super Nathanael felt his legs start backing away, felt his heart beating so hard he was afraid it may fail him, until he tripped on his cape and fell backwards._

 _Damn. No wonder he'd gotten rid of that thing._

 _The Evillustrator stepped forward, laughing to himself as he drew a sword for himself, taking it in one hand and looking ready to swing at Hawkmoth's word. Said villain was standing just behind him, a cold smile gracing what could be seen of his face._

" _Ladybug and Chat Noir will fall to me, Nathanael. And you'll have no hope of helping them. You're just an artist; nothing more." he turned to the Evillustrator. "Proceed."_

" _Gladly," the purple-skinned boy in front of him grinned and swung his sword. There was nothing he could do to stop it, absolutely nothing, it was over, he'd lost, and now he was-_

"AAH!" he sat up with a scream, the blanket flying off of him. He was embraced with… the freezing air conditioning of his room, and not death. It was all a dream, after all. He'd known it was before, but at some point… it'd felt real.

Could Hawkmoth send visions to people?

Nathanael didn't want to devote any of his thoughts to Hawkmoth at the moment. A quick glance at his alarm clock told him that, while four in the morning was awfully early to be waking up on a sunday, it was the perfect time to maybe start a new piece. He was awake anyways, and he sure as hell didn't want to go back to sleep after _that_ had happened. Ignoring the chill on his arms and legs, he stood and went over to his desk to contemplate what to do…

* * *

Monday morning already. Nathanael quickly hurried out of the house with a croissant in his mouth and his present for Marinette under his arm. A blush had been teasing his face all day, but burned harder and harder the closer he got to school. Would she like the gift? Would she think he was weird? He personally thought it was one of his best pieces, but still…

Maybe he'd get her some sweets to lessen the weird! Yeah, she really loved pastries! Maybe he'd go to his favorite patisserie to get her some sweets, so he could share a little piece of him with her! He slipped inside the Boulangerie-Patisserie and bought a few cookies and macarons before walking the rest of the way to school.

Not too many people were there yet. The classroom was almost empty, in fact, save for Alix. He greeted her with a nod before putting his presents on Marinette's desk. He heard a soft chuckle from the pink-haired girl and turned.

"What?"

"Is that your birthday gift?" she asked, a slight smirk tugging at her lips.

"Um… yeah. Do you think it's a bit much?"

"No, no, I'm sure she'll love it, but… you do realize she _lives and works_ at the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, right?" Alix let out a laugh as Nathanael realized just how ridiculous this was. Of course she loved pastries, she _lived among them 24/7!_ What if she was sick and tired of seeing and eating pastries, oh god, he'd screwed up!

Well… Alix said she'd probably like it anyways. He might as well give it a chance.

"Hey, dude, where's your backpack?" Kim asked as he walked inside, Max busy on his phone. Nathanael tensed, checking himself and his surroundings only to realize he'd somehow forgotten his backpack at home.

"Ooooooooohhhhhhhhh shit I gotta go, bye!" he ran out the door as fast as he could and half the way back home until he got tired. Thank god he always tried to get to school early. Maybe he'd be able to get back on time.

Sneaking back into his house was simple enough. His parents were nowhere near conscious at this time of the morning, so he could just slip into his room and grab it and go. The streets were a little bit busier on his way out back to school, as people started heading to work or school. He let his mind wander as he walked back to Francois-Dupont, observing his surroundings. The Parisian streets really were nice, no wonder so many artists dreamed of coming here. Maybe he could paint a few streetscapes, try and get them in a gallery. He'd heard those sold well in galleries, apparently tourists love them for whatever-

A silver car glided down the street and parked in front of the school. The side door opened and Adrien Agreste stepped out, waving a goodbye to his bodyguard in the driver's seat. When he looked up and saw him, he seemed to flinch back a moment. Was Nathanael really that terrifying to him? He had maybe a full head and a half on him, maybe two heads. Had their talk in the basement really intimidated him that much? He had a bodyguard for crying out loud, it's not like he was going to actually going to _do_ anything!

Then his face shifted into one of those dazzling grins and he waved at him. Wait, what? He was just afraid of him, what's going on?! He looked to his bodyguard for clarity only to be met with a cold glare. Dear god, he'd called him dumb. He'd called this huge, muscular, intimidating guy in control of a two-ton machine dumb. He'd probably heard about it, Adrien probably told him, half the class was probably going to hate him, what did he do, _what did he do-_

"Hey, Nathanael! Wanna walk to class together?" Adrien asked.

"Uh… Uh, I-I… What about Nino? Don't you usually walk with Nino?"

"Eh, he won't mind one day. He can catch up if he wants to." Adrien closed the car door and the bodyguard drove off, leaving the two to themselves.

"I… I guess…" he stepped over to Adrien's side and they started going up the stairs. They were silent for a moment, and Nathanael was beginning to wonder if he was just hard to talk to or what when suddenly Adrien spoke up.

"Thank you." he said.

Nathanael turned, wide eyed. "Thank you? Wait, you don't hate me?!"

"What?! Hate you?! No, of course not, you're actually… you're actually kinda cool."

"But, your bodyguard-"

"Oh, he always looks like that. We call him the Gorilla because he's huge and he never talks and he literally almost _always_ looks like that."

"Oh… Well, wh-wh-what are you thanking me for?" Adrien's hand was reaching for the door handle to the school but hesitated a moment.

"W-Well… For… Saying what you said in the basement."

"Wha-Really?!"

"Yeah! Um, after the party, I put a lot of thought into what you said. And, I do like Ladybug, but… She doesn't know me. And she's a hero, I have no chance with her, I'm just a model. And… Marinette _is_ very nice, and I realized, I did like her for a long while, I was just forcing it aside for Ladybug. So… I'm going to ask her out."

"Oh. That's great!" Nathanael didn't mean for it to come out that way, but honestly he was a bit envious. He'd given Adrien an edge he hadn't known about after all, and now he'd lost. Sure, Marinette would be happy, but his own feelings…

"Th-that is, if you don't mind!"

"What?"

"I mean, I don't want to interfere or offend you somehow, I know you've liked her a long time and-"

"I don't mind. Really. She'll be happy with you. That's all I want."

"So… You really don't kind if I ask out Marinette?"

"Dude! You're asking out Marinette?!" The two boys whipped around to find Nino behind them, adjusting his cap. "Finally, man!"

"What, were you waiting for me to or something?"

"Everyone in class was waiting for you, dude! We've had meetings!"

"You have?"

"Yeah, what got you to do it?! Was it the music Kim picked or what?"

"Uh… Nathanael yelled at me in the basement Saturday."

"I-I-I-I wouldn't call it y-y-yelling!" Nathanael waved his hands in front of himself, his cheeks burning red. Nino put his hands on his shoulders.

"Dude. Thanks for putting some sense into my bud where I couldn't." he said.

"Uh, no problem?"

"So, let's go find her!"

"She's probably not here yet. She tends to come late." Adrien shrugged. "I'll just ask her when she comes into class."

"In front of everyone?"

"...sure, I guess."

"Sweet, dude! Let's head on in, I've got an idea!" Nino wrapped an arm around Adrien's shoulders and they walked inside, talking to each other, leaving Nathanael by himself at the door. No big deal. He was used to it. He held his bag to his chest and looked around before heading to the lockers. He grabbed a few books to put in his bag and closed the door, only to find Chloe and Sabrina behind it.

"So, Kurtzberg, I heard you got akumatized _again_ on Saturday? How pathetic do you have to be to get akumatized _twice?_ " Nathanael tensed, stumbling over his words as he tried to form some sort of defense and coming up short. "Or is that such a low level that only _you_ can reach it?"

"Leave him _alone,_ Chloe!" Chloe scowled and turned to face Marinette, her friend Alya not far behind. "You know just as well as anyone that people don't _choose_ to be akumatized! Stop blaming him for Saturday!"

"Why should I listen to you? And, you're just going to let him get away with what he did? Didn't he try to kill you and your parents?"

"He didn't, and Ladybug fixed everything, and he apologized, and it wasn't his fault and that's all that matters! If you're implying that he's to blame for trying to hurt me and not Hawkmoth, then that means you're implying that _you're_ to blame for trying to kill Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Chloe faltered, seeming to struggle to come up with an argument just as much as Nathanael had just moments before. During the distraction, Marinette took Nathanael's hand and walked off, urging him to follow.

"Sorry about that, Nathanael. But, it's really not your fault." she said.

"I-It's okay, I-I-I understand. Ladybug… Ladybug told me that before…" he smiled a bit at the thought.

Marinette grinned. Alya stepped closer. "So, what all _did_ she say to you?!" she held up her phone, and Nathanael immediately realized that this was for the blog. He clutched his bookbag tight to his chest again. Cameras weren't exactly a comfort zone for him, but he didn't want to disappoint his classmate…

"W-Well, I, um… d-don't laugh, but when I… got purified? Detransformed? I dunno what the right term would be, but when whatever happened happened I, uh… I started crying, because I felt kinda dumb letting myself get manipulated like that again and I thought, um, nobody liked me enough to invite me to the party-"

Marinette gave him a tight hug. "Oh my gosh, Nathanael, I'm so sorry! You're really cool, I just couldn't find your email address and then I was sick and then _you_ were sick and I-"

"I-I-It's okay, Marinette, I totally understand!" somehow his hand ended up on her shoulder, and he quickly tore it away before things got weird. "I was just kinda overwhelmed, and then Ladybug and Chat Noir came over and asked if I was okay, and I told her what all had happened and she said that 'hey, I've met Marinette before, she's pretty cool, she probably made a mistake with the invites and totally meant to invite you and totally wouldn't mind if you just showed up' and I… I-I was kinda like 'but I wasn't invited and I tried to kill her and her parents just go' and she said 'nah man just go hang with your friends it'll be chill' and then she left and I went to the party."

"And what did Chat Noir do?" Alya asked.

"...well, I mean, he didn't say anything, but he was there, and to be completely honest neither of them had to do that. They could've just left me there, and I'm really glad they didn't. It's almost like… I dunno how to explain it, but it's like… I mean, they're the heroes of Paris. They deal with crazies all the time, they don't really have to stop and help each and every time. And yet, they do it anyways. They definitely helped Paris that Saturday, but they took a bit of time and helped _me_ too. And I'm grateful." Nathanael took a breath. "They reminded me that people make mistakes, but in the end, I still have friends to fall back on. Whether it's Chloe tormenting us, or Ms. Mendeleev talking shit about our grades, or if we just woke up on the wrong side of bed, we have people to support us. And I' grateful for that; some people don't have half as much. And I hope that I can find the courage to be a support system for someone else." he looked up at Alya. "...Did I say too much?"

Alya and Marinette were staring at him, slack jawed, eyes wide. Marinette looked like she may cry. Alya lowered her phone before they both gave him bone-crushing hugs.

"That was perfect, Nathanael!" Alya said.

"That was beautiful! I'm sure everyone will love it! Marinette added. Nathanael grinned and returned the hug the best he could. Soon they released him, and started walking to class. Oh great, he was being left behind again-

"Hey, Nathanael! Coming with?" Marinette turned and asked.

"Oh! U-Um, sure!" he jogged a bit to catch up with them.

"Did you enjoy the party Saturday?"

"Yeah, it was really fun! Thanks for letting me in-which reminds me! I got a present for you! Well, I guess in a sense I got you two…"

"What do you mean, 'in a sense?'" Alya asked.

"You'll see. But I promise you'll like it." Marinette looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but Nathanael just smiled and opened the door to their class, beelining for his desk.

Adrien looked up as they entered. He hesitated a bit until Nino nudged his shoulder, then stood up and approached Marinette by the door. Almost the whole class was there, save for Chloe and Sabrina. Good thing. They'd just ruin the moment.

Marinette's face erupted in a blush as he fumbled over a greeting. Adrien blushed a bit as well and said hello, putting his hands on her shoulders. Marinette froze under the touch, eyes wide.

"M-Marinette, I… I've been informed you l-like me…"

"Wha-Alya!" Marinette turned to face her friend, who shook her head to indicate she hadn't but was recording the experience on her phone. How the hell did she have the space for all of this recording?

"I-It was Nathanael."

"Nathanael?" Marinette looked over at him. Nathanael smiled and offered a thumbs up. She turned back to Adrien.

"I… I thought about it all weekend, and I realized… I like you too." gasps rippled across the room at this revelation. Rose barely kept herself from squealing, settling for latching onto Juleka's arm. "So, um I was wondering… could we… do you want to, um… go on a date this weekend?"

This time Rose actually did let out an excited scream. Everyone only got more excited when Marinette said yes. Kim and Alix actually high-fived each other. THe entire class seemed to be celebrating. THey'd been waiting for this for a long time, Nathanael couldn't blame them. It was practically as wild as a New Year's Eve party in that classroom for just a few moments.

Then Chloe and Sabrina came in.

"What's got _you_ guys acting so crazy?!" Chloe snapped. Everyone froze, looking between Adrien and Marinette an Chloe and Sabrina.

"Oh! I'm dating Marinette now!" Adrien beamed, pulling Marinette into a side hug. "Isn't it great?"

Chloe screamed and stomped over to her desk in a huff, Sabrina's eyes widening before she followed. Adrien faltered for a bit, looking confused and disappointed. Marinette was blushing too hard to speak.

"Don't sweat it, bud. If you and Marinette are happy, that's all that matters! Don't let her drag you down, dude." Nino said, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah! This is amazing, for both of you!" Rose piped up. The rest of the class surrounded the two, expressing just how excited they were for them and offering date ideas. Nathanael hung back, unsure what he could say. He was happy for them, sure, but so was almost everyone else. That wasn't news. He couldn't offer any _good_ date ideas, since he'd never been on one. Well, technically he had, but he didn't count that.

"Oh, what are those?" Nathanael snapped back to attention when Marinette walked over to her desk to start checking out his presents. He could feel his cheeks explode into a blush as he remembered exactly what he'd done for her present. What if she hated it?!

"Those are Nathanael's presents for you!" Alix grinned, sending him a wink. Nathanael sank lower in his seat as everyone gathered around, including Chloe and Sabrina. Marinette opened the box of pastries and smiled.

"Oh hey! Thanks, Nathanael, I totally didn't eat breakfast this morning!" she said. He sat up a bit. So they really _were_ useful!

"I can't believe he got you pastries from _your own bakery._ How useless is that?" Sabrina scoffed.

"It's _her_ present, Sabrina! If she likes it, she likes it, leave it alone!" Alya said, crossing her arms and sending a glare towards the twosome of terror before flipping her hair and directing her attention back to the final present. Nathanael dared to stand and come closer. He wanted to see her reaction to it, gauge whether it was horrible or okay.

"Read the tag, read the tag!" Rose giggled, hopping on her tiptoes.

"Okay. 'To: Marinette, From: Nathanael. I hope it's okay.' Oh, is it a drawing?! I love your drawings, I'm sure it's wonderful!"

"Oh, w-well, it's not exactly a-you'll see." Nathanael shrugged, trying to downplay how badly he could feel himself blushing. She'd complimented his drawings! He barely registered that Marinette had started tearing away the wrapping paper until she hugged him.

"Oh my gosh, Nathanael, it's beautiful! Thanks so much!" she squealed, lifting him off his feet before setting him down again.

On Instagram a few weeks ago, she had posted a picture Alya had taken of her after school one day, in an outfit she had designed herself and had tried on. Someone-he had assumed it to be a family member or something-had commented that she looked beautiful, like a painting. Nathanael agreed, but never typed it out. To which, Marinette said something along the lines of 'haha I guess so, if someone did paint this I would love them so much lol' and then tagged him. She was probably joking when she said she wanted it done, but he'd taken it seriously and done it anyways. It'd been around two weeks ago, and he wasn't sure if she'd even remember she'd tagged him, but he took a chance and wrapped it in wrapping paper and brought it to school.

"Dude! You never told us you could paint!" Nino exclaimed, tipping his hat. "Nice!"

"How much do I have to pay to get something like that done?!" Kim said. "I want these pecs immortalized!" he added, putting his foot up on the bench and flexing dramatically. Max rolled his eyes. He was joking, right? About paying him? He hadn't paid him last time, unless 'publicity' counted, but-

"Ooh! Could you paint Juleka and I together for, maybe, forty euros?" Rose asked.

"F-Forty euros?!" Nathanael's jaw dropped. The rest of the class began crowding around him, asking for paintings and how much he was asking for each one. He was overwhelmed. Were they actually wanting _him_ to-

"Alright, class, the bell has rung, everyone to their seats please!" Miss Bustier called out as she walked into the room. Everyone scrambled to their seats and pulled out their textbooks and tablets to prepare for class. As their teacher began their history lesson, Nathanael assumed everyone would forget about whatever requests they had given.

He was proven wrong every time a slip of paper was passed back to him by Ivan, containing a phone number and a request for a drawing or painting. He blushed just a bit more at each one, flattered that his classmates thought so highly of his work. Marinette sent him smiles every few minutes throughout the day, but seemed more focused on Adrien. Nathanael couldn't help but smile, seeing how happy she was.

By the end of the day, he came to realize he was happy too.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the story! Tell me what you thought! Feel free to message me or follow me on any of my social media accounts, which are listed pretty early on in my profile! (Don't worry about scrolling through the rest of that mess, it's unimportant.)

Have a wonderful day!


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